


Inquiring Minds Want to Know

by LightningLemonade



Category: Pacific Rim (2013)
Genre: Alternate Universe - No Kaiju, Alternate Universe - Restaurant, M/M, Tumblr: otpprompts, ex military buds run a restaurant, implied hermann/newton, luna pentacost lives
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-11-17
Updated: 2015-11-17
Packaged: 2018-05-02 03:33:20
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings, No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 759
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/5232356
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/LightningLemonade/pseuds/LightningLemonade
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>Little Mako asks a lot of questions.</p><p>Some embarrass Stacker.</p>
            </blockquote>





	Inquiring Minds Want to Know

**Author's Note:**

> Based on the following from OTP prompts:
> 
> Imagine Person A is a single parent to a curious child who loves asking A all sorts of questions. They always stop by the same restaurant for lunch, where they always find B being their waiter. A is clearly head over heels in love with B, but doesn’t want to say anything about it or admit it (worried of rejection, doesn’t want to burden them with the prospect of taking care of a child that isn’t theirs, etc) until one day during their usual lunch time, A and their child are waiting for their food when their child suddenly asks A “Mommy/daddy, why do you keep looking at B and smiling like that? Do you like B?”, leaving an embarrassed A trying to shush their child in the middle of the lunch rush crowd, with a blushing and amused B (who happened to hear their whole conversation) stopping by the table with their food. 
> 
> (Bonus: When B tries to bring it up later, A claims the child is just very vocal and tries to cover it up while their child says to B “Mommy/daddy really, really likes you! I think they think about you all the time!”)

Stacker loved his little girl, Mako - but dear god she was very firmly in the questioning phase. It wasn't so much that she asked too many - her questions were very well thought out (for a six-year-old) but it was her current lack of filter which caused Stacker minor embarrassment.

Particularly in the restaurant Lucky Seven. He takes Mako there regularly - twice a week, during lunch break. Lucky Seven was only two streets away from Mako's primary school, so it was never a bother to go on school days.

They made a strange pair - A six foot and then some man, a firefighter with the burn scars to show for it, accompanied by a tiny Japanese girl who's long hair was held back from her eyes by hair clips with delicate blue bows. Mako barely came up to Stacker's knee, but was not cowed by her giant of a father-figure. She chattered away to him about her day so far as he helped her up to the chair, a gentle smile adorning his usually stern face.

Stacker had several reasons for going to this particular restaurant, aside from it being near Mako's school, and having fantastic food. He knows the Hansen brothers - ex military pilots, they worked with his sister Luna on a couple of operations. All three left the military after one of those operations went south and formed this restaurant.

Scott Hansen is quiet, spends his time predominately in the kitchen and channels everything into the restaurant's creations - baking, stirring, cutting, crafting the food they were known for. Luna Pentacost takes point on all the managerial and admin work, spending most of her work day in the tiny office over the kitchen. Leaving Hercules Hansen and one of their university student hires on the restaurant floor. 

Their student has some condition which required him to use a cane, so he spends his time behind the counter. Herc's the designated waiter by default, striding across the shop floor, efficiently delivering orders and yelling to Scott if they need more of...whatever, at times like these the Australian accent becomes near incomprehensible - but Scott seems to still understand his brother.

Mako and her father make their usual order - ham and pea soup for her, one of the meat pies for Stacker. Herc's all smiles and resting a hand on Stacker's back while asking Mako how school's going.

Stacker had come to realise that these lunchtimes were one of the highlights of his week, though doing anything but admire at a distance was not Stacker's strong point. He had to be a fixed point to Mako as her father, a fixed point at the station and Hercules Hansen was...Stacker didn't know. Something unknown, something that could disrupt the fixed point he needed to be. 

The two lunchtimes a week and glimpses caught when specifically visiting Luna in her tiny office were enough for Stacker. Or so he kept telling himself.

As Herc scribbled something down on paper, bellowed something in the direction of the kitchen and headed to the slowly building queue of dishes to go out, Mako's face held a thoughtful expression.

Stacker internally prepared to answer whatever she'd ask at this moment - but it was one he was not in any way inclined to verbalise the answer.

"Father, why do you keep smiling at Mr Hansen so much?" Mako's still not quite worked out where indoor and outdoor voice volumes lie, so her question was loud. Loud enough to be heard across the restaurant, or at least that's how Stacker felt.

His face felt hotter than standing in front of a house fire and he tried to settle his thoughts before giving an answer.

Mako, however, had other ideas.

"I think you like Mr Hansen. You have the same expression that Mr Gottlieb has when he's reading his emails."

Stacker swore at that moment he could not be more embarrassed. Then of _course_ , Herc would appear at the table. At the worst possible moment.

The grin and slight blush on Herc's face as he set down their dishes was enough to make up for any unease brought about by Mako's statements. The soft "Enjoy your meal, mate." that Herc uttered before he had to dash off to deliver another order was just...indescribable. Maybe, just maybe, Mako had done what her father never would.

Though, Stacker thought, he would need to talk to Mako about asking questions that could be classed as personal in what could be considered public spaces...somewhere along the lines of _please do not_.

**Author's Note:**

> Unbeta'd, knocked out in a day, and I can't help but slip in references to Newmann.
> 
> I am a terrible man. :>
> 
> (This may get expanded, I really want to work on more stuff with the Pentacosts and the Hansens)


End file.
